The Final Odyssey, the fantastical journey of a cat boy

"If that's the case, shouldn't we go check out that compromised facility right now?" Fish thought for a moment, then asked, "There might still be some clues left there that can help us roughly deduce what happened. And... what exactly was contained inside."

“That’s right. In fact, we have to go there,” Huang Yan replied, “because after I reported the situation to the Joint Operations Headquarters, they have given clear instructions.”

"Well……"

"According to the instructions, we should complete the investigation of the compromised facility within 100 days. During this process, we are permitted to deal with any obstacles and threats encountered by any means," Huang Yan's clone said in a measured tone, "the faster the better."

"Are all means permitted?" Ange repeated the question. "May I interpret this as 'this mission is extremely dangerous'?"

"Of course you can understand it that way," Huang Yan said.

"So, what are our benefits?" Ange asked. Having been raised as the heir to the duchy, seeking a corresponding reward for every risk had become instinctive for her. "While I'd be happy to conduct the investigation, if I have to take extra risks, why not use my intelligence network and connections within the Duchy of Fayun to directly spy on those 'special advisors'?"

"Because the value of on-site exploration is irreplaceable. Furthermore, Your Highness, I can assure you that for the United War Headquarters, your recapture of the Duchy of Fayun is an extremely valuable undertaking—that is why they ordered their rescue," Huang Yan replied immediately. "After all, humanity is currently facing immense danger. To accomplish the great cause of protecting humanity, the full support of a larger nation is indispensable."

"I understand." Ange nodded. "So, this operation will help me reclaim the Grand Duke's throne in the Duchy of Fayun?"

"I can assure you of this—and more importantly, the Joint Operations Command believes that Dr. Iskander Lomonosov's actions have posed a direct threat to the safety of the human race."

"But how are we going to get there?" Fish asked. "Although we are not officially restricted in our personal freedom, in reality, once we leave Camphor Leaf Palace, there will be people watching us everywhere in the city. It is completely impossible to leave quietly."

"That's right," Xiaoxing said. "If we're being followed the whole way, it's simply impossible to conduct a secret investigation."

"Don't worry! This princess certainly has a way to get rid of those annoying 'tails'." Ange revealed a confident smile. "My lord, do you remember that move you used in that arena with Phoenix Flame, relying on your 'devouring ability'?"

After that night, all the job placement agencies in Akitsukyo suddenly had a huge number of recruiters: Princess Ange, who lived in the Shoye Palace, seemed to be tired of the lack of manpower and inconvenience in her life, and ordered the recruitment of a large number of servants to serve her.

Because the princess offered very high commissions, several hundred experienced maids applied, and more than a hundred successfully entered the probationary period.

Unfortunately, these people soon noticed that the situation seemed to be different from what they had imagined: Princess Anjie maintained a secluded lifestyle in the Zhangye Palace, always staying in her inner chambers, and all her contact with the outside world was conducted through several senior ladies-in-waiting, who also carried out the selection of newcomers.

Every day, only one new person is selected and allowed to enter the inner chamber to serve Ange directly, testing whether she is qualified to become the princess's personal maid with a higher salary.

However, Ange had extremely high standards for her servants. Even these lucky ones were often quickly dismissed for various trivial reasons. Fortunately, even those who were dismissed received a month's salary, so no one complained. Everyone simply viewed it as a common, capricious act by a rich heiress with more money than she could spend.

Just as the last batch of maids who failed to stay were dismissed and left with their almost unpaid monthly salaries, a message was quietly published in the routine military announcement of the Penglai Kingdom: a new batch of officers had been temporarily appointed, and at the end of the list were several second lieutenants and first lieutenants temporarily recruited from outside the Penglai Kingdom.

The announcement also stated that these individuals would be assigned to a new batch of garrison troops rotating to the northernmost region.

Of course, like most similar government documents, these tedious announcements failed to capture the interest of anyone—whether ordinary people or those with ulterior motives. After all, in recent days, all the big news in Akitsukyo revolved around "Princess Fayun, who had fled into exile due to domestic strife," with newspapers and street gossip endlessly recounting the princess's legendary escape and the turbulent political situation between different noble families.

In this situation, no one would care about the fate of a few low-ranking officers. As for the northernmost region, it was a remote and desolate place that was hardly newsworthy for respectable citizens of the capital.

At this moment, no one could have guessed that, not long after, an astonishing event that would change the entire world would first erupt on this land.

Ten days later, in the northernmost land, in the South Anadel-11 colony area.

After bringing the patrol hovercraft to a stop, Lieutenant Krim stood up from the co-pilot's seat and began vigorously swatting away the swarms of mosquitoes that rolled around like miniature clouds. In the ancient times, this land in the northwest of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk was notorious for its harsh cold and unusable permafrost, but the situation was quite the opposite in this era.

Due to millennia of global warming and marine transgression, the Earth's environment has returned to a state of extreme heat, similar to that of the early Cenozoic era, with average temperatures approaching those of the late Paleocene. Permafrost has melted away over the long years, and the climate has once again become suitable for crop growth…

However, pathogens that had been frozen for a long time were also released. Worse still, the swamps created after the permafrost thawed became a breeding ground for various blood-sucking dipteran insects that were already thriving.

Even the powerful humans of the old civilizations have never found a way to eradicate these creatures. As for the new humans, they are even more helpless against these tiny vampires.

Furthermore, due to climate change, after the end of the old civilization era, a large number of synthetic beasts and other artificial creatures created by the freaks of that era, unable to withstand the high temperatures and humidity, began to migrate north and adapted to this paradise covered in jungles and swamps. Their arrival made the Northland even more dangerous. Even so, for the past century, the Pan-Pacific Empire has continued to migrate people here.

The reason is quite simple: the population is growing too fast.

According to the history lessons Lieutenant Krim took at the officer training school, when the three heroes led the new humans to defeat the corrupt and decadent old civilization and gain their freedom, the old humans had dwindled to a mere handful due to their long-term low birth rate and the endless migrations to other parts of the world, while the new humans numbered less than a million.

After that, due to the dangerous "legacy" left by the old humans that littered the continent—industrial systems that could malfunction at any moment, uncontrolled autonomous weapons, ferocious synthetic beasts, various troublesome contaminated areas and other nasty things—the new humans, led by Alicia, the "Sword Goddess" and the leader of the "Three Heroes," migrated to the islands in the ocean and established their empire there.

Over the centuries, the original population of one million gradually expanded to ten million, and then exceeded one hundred million. Due to rising sea levels, the islands have become smaller and more fragmented than before. As a result, they quickly reached the limits of their natural carrying capacity.

So people turned their attention back to the abandoned continent.

Because the river deltas and alluvial plains that were important agricultural bases in the past have mostly been submerged by the sea in this era, or because they are located in dangerous, massive ruins like Twilight City, making them unsuitable for immigration.

Therefore, those high-latitude hilly and mountainous areas that were once covered with permafrost and taiga forests and had sparse populations became an excellent choice.

Over eighty years, the empire intermittently relocated seven million people from various duchies, principalities, and autonomous city-states to the far north—the land known in the old civilization as "Alaska," "Kamchatka," "Chukochi," and "Aleutian."

Despite the immense difficulties, these people eventually established hundreds of settlements on the thawing permafrost.

These thawed lands are indeed fertile and prosperous. Unfortunately, due to rampant diseases, mosquitoes far more prevalent than in the old civilization era, and dangerous chimeras, the colonists' lives have always been precarious. Furthermore, the practice of the various duchies and city-states prioritizing the relocation of the lumpenproletariat and criminals to this wilderness has resulted in a highly concerningly low level of civic virtue among the inhabitants.

In fact, in the dense forests of the Anadel Plateau, north of the colony area under Lieutenant Klim's squad's jurisdiction, a large number of bandits and cultists, former settlers, roamed. Some of them were said to be extremely dangerous.

In order to deal with these problems and maintain the most basic production order, the empire had to coordinate with the various duchies and city-states to take turns sending troops called "garrison troops" to be stationed in this new grain-producing area.

Due to the poor local conditions, this job was naturally a tough one, even tantamount to exile—for example, Lieutenant Klim himself was sent here under the guise of "promotion" because he had offended some people he shouldn't have.

Fortunately, although the rampant mosquito army had drained hundreds of milliliters of blood and left thousands of large welts over the past two years, Krim had not encountered any formidable enemies or been drawn into dangerous armed conflicts, except for a few low-level chimeras that roamed around.

According to the garrison's duty roster, his shift will end in two months. Then he can finally leave behind the swarms of mosquitoes, be promoted to captain, and return to his hometown…

"Sir? Sir! There's something going on over there!"

Just as Krim was imagining the coconuts and bananas on his home island, his hovercraft pilot, Corporal Turner, suddenly spoke up.

"What happened?"

"There seems to be something in the wooded area ahead."

"Hmm?" Krim raised his binoculars and looked in the direction his subordinate pointed out, while simultaneously using his powerful tail to swat away mosquitoes. At times like this, he was always grateful that he was a bull-type new human, as his long tail was extremely effective as a fly swatter... at least better than the rabbit-type new humans under his command.

This area was a wasteland covered with hardy dwarf grasses, mosses, and lichens in the old civilization era, but now it has become a mixed coniferous and broad-leaved forest. Large amounts of water from the melting permafrost have submerged the valleys carved out by small rivers, forming wide drowned valley areas, which are patrolled by Krim's armed patrols in hovercraft and speedboats.

In the area where the valley met the woodland, some figures were wandering erratically. At first, Krim suspected they might be a group of armed bandits planning an attack on the settlement, but he quickly realized his assumption was inaccurate. Admittedly, these men wore fur coats commonly worn by bandits, as well as leaf cloaks for camouflage. But their posture…

...That grotesque form could no longer be called "human".

Whether they are old humans or new humans, they are essentially bipedal and walk upright. Even individuals like Krim, whose lower limbs have hoofed toes and have grown cow tails and horns, are no exception. But these creatures in the forest belt seem extremely strange.

Among this group, some people, though still walking on two feet, appeared unsteady and erratic, as if they were drunk. Others crawled on all fours or wriggled on the ground like snakes. There were even bizarre cases of people crawling face up on their feet and the backs of their hands.

"What...what the hell is all this?" Lieutenant Krim flicked his tail a few more times, swatting away a dozen mosquitoes that were about to attack him. "Are these people crazy?"

"Well, sir... I think they might be cultists," his deputy captain said, taking the binoculars and scrutinizing the group for a while. "I've heard that many strange mushrooms grow in the Chukotka forest. As the climate gets warmer, these mushrooms are becoming more and more abundant. Many cultists use these mushrooms to manipulate their consciousness, then fall into a state of mental confusion..."

"Really? But even so, we can't let these guys continue like this," Lieutenant Krim said. "They're too close to the settlement. What if they go berserk and attack the residents?"

"That's right, sir," the vice-captain nodded, "Should we request backup?"

"No need." Krim thought for a moment: his squad had twelve men, two armed hovercraft, and two machine guns. The lunatics staggering in the forest opposite looked to be at most twenty or thirty people, and they didn't seem to be carrying any weapons. At least for now, he was confident he could quickly disperse them. "Get on the boats and drive these guys back into the woods."

"Yes, sir." Corporal Turner restarted the small hovercraft's engine. But before the rear air propeller engine could even start spinning, something suddenly slammed into the bottom of the hovercraft!

The small boat was violently capsized and slammed into the mudflats. Then, as soon as Krim raised his automatic rifle, he felt something pierce his spine.

The last thing he saw was a bizarre, gigantic "human" face emerging from the water, covered in razor-like fangs.